People v. Juarez CA5

BACKGROUND

In 2013, a jury convicted defendant of first degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) and found true the allegations he committed the murder while he was engaged in the victim’s kidnapping (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)); intentionally tortured the victim (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(18)); and intentionally killed the victim while he was an active participant in a criminal street gang (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(22)). On appeal, this court vacated the torture- murder and gang-murder special circumstances. (People v. Navarro et al. (Jan. 13, 2017, F068452) [nonpub. opn.].) On October 9, 2020, defendant filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to former section 1170.95 (now 1172.6). In a ruling filed December 7, 2020, the trial court denied the petition “for failure to state a prima facie case for relief.” Specifically, the court concluded “the jury’s verdict necessarily included a finding that [defendant] acted with the intent to kill,” among other things. On April 25, 2023, defendant filed another resentencing petition. He marked the following checkboxes:

“1. A complaint, information, or indictment was filed against me that allowed the prosecution to proceed under a theory of felony murder,…